Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, has suggested that consumers are “ready” for the next-generation price hike to rise to $ 69.99, NBA 2K21 will cost exactly that. This remark was made during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom conference in March 2021 after Zelnick was asked for his opinion on the public’s reaction to the price increase of the game. In that context, the usual launch price for most 2K titles during the last two generations of consoles was $ 59.99. [Thanks, Video Game Chronicle!]
Here is the exact quote from Zelnick from the presentation, which VGC transcribed:
We announced a $ 70 price tag NBA 2K21our opinion was that we offer a variety of extraordinary experiences, a lot of playability and that the last time in 2005, 2006, there was an increase in the US, so we think consumers were ready for that.
Take-Two Interactive owns the Rockstar Games and 2K publishers, but Zelnick has not explicitly said what consumers can expect in the future in terms of pricing. Instead, he said announcements would be made on a title-by-title basis. He acknowledged that feeling overwhelmed could ruin an experience.
When NBA 2K21The price increase of the next generation was announced for the first time in August 2020. Zelnick claims that the price is justified because of the value that Take-Two and the next generation of consoles offer consumers. NBA 2K21 is notable because it was the first next-generation title to have the $ 69.99 price tag attached to it. The same game is also available for $ 59.99 on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
NBA 2K21 is not the only next generation title sold at this price. A few PS5 games have been released for $ 69.99.
This $ 59.99 price point is the standard selling price in the United States for most video games released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Switch. This price was also an increase of $ 10 compared to the previous generation’s new price price.